This application claims the priority of German Patent Document No. 100 50 160.5, filed in Germany, Oct. 11, 2001, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a vehicle, particularly a passenger car, having an unlocking handle arranged in the vehicle interior for the opening operation of a lock of a closing element, such as a door, a flap, a hood, a lid, or the like, this unlocking handle having a luminous construction.
From German Patent Application with the official File Number 199 27 179.8 of Jun. 15, 1999, such a vehicle is known, in which an unlocking handle is arranged in the trunk of the vehicle and is used for the opening operation of the lock of the trunk lid. The surface of the unlocking handle may of a luminescent construction. In addition, illuminating devices may be provided which are connected to the on-board vehicle power supply. As a result of this construction, a person shut into trunk will be enabled to escape from the trunk because, by means of such an unlocking handle, the trunk lid can be opened from the interior, the luminous surface of the unlocking handle facilitating the finding and operating of the unlocking handle when the trunk lid is closed. As a result of lethal accidents in which children locked themselves in the trunk of a vehicle during play, a demand exists for solutions of this type.
From U.S. Pat. No. 4,080,812, a vehicle is known in whose trunk an unilluminated unlocking handle is arranged by means of which the lock of the trunk lid can be operated for the purpose of an opening.
From German Patent Application DE 30 00 231 A1, a vehicle is known for whose doors operating keys are provided in the vehicle interior whose operation results in an opening of the lock of the respective door. A pressure surface of these operating keys can be illuminated in order to improve the detectability of the operating keys in the dark.
German Patent Document DE 41 20 677 A1 shows a vehicle whose doors have door handles on the interior side facing the vehicle interior, which door handles are accommodated in handle recesses. For a better detectability of the door handles in the dark, these handle recesses are illuminated, the light source used for this purpose having a self-sufficient construction and thus being independent of the on-board vehicle power supply.
The use of illumination devices for illuminating the unlocking handle has the disadvantage that the functioning of the illumination devices must be ensured and this requires a permanent checking. Furthermore, the mounting of additional illumination devices on the unlocking handle or in its proximity requires relatively high expenditures. Although the use of an unlocking handle with a luminous surface is less expensive, it has the disadvantage that, on the one hand, a relatively long high-intensity illumination of this surface is required in order to develop a lasting luminous effect. On the other hand, the luminous effect of such a surface diminishes relatively rapidly, so that a person shut into the trunk has only a relatively brief time period for finding and operating the unlocking handle.
A problem addressed by the present invention is to provide an arrangement for a vehicle of the initially mentioned type which can be produced at relatively reasonable cost and improves the finding of the unlocking handle in the dark.
According to the invention, this problem is solved by providing a vehicle interior space with an unlocking handle having a basic body coupled with a lock and a luminous body mounted on the basic body and made of luminous material.
The invention is based on the general idea of constructing the unlocking handle of at least two bodies, specifically of a basic body and luminous body, which are optimized with respect to their function. In this manner, it is possible to produce the luminous body of a material which has a particularly intensive and lasting luminous effect, while, because of its other material characteristics, for example, its stability, it does not have to be suitable for a use as a handle. In the case of the invention, the actual handle function is taken over by the basic body which is coupled in a suitable manner, for example, by way of a Bowden cable, with the respective lock.
As a result of a suitable selection of the material for the luminous body, a relatively brief and relatively weak illumination of the unlocking handle according to the invention is sufficient in order to make the latter visible in the dark for a relatively long period. This increases the certainty of finding the unlocking handle in the dark. Because the unlocking handle according to the invention has a luminous construction, basically no additional illuminating devices are required so that, in a simple embodiment of the invention, the unlocking handle and thus the vehicle equipped therewith can be produced at relatively low cost.
According to a preferred embodiment, the luminous body can be fitted onto the basic body by means of a dovetail guide. Such a dovetail coupling permits a form-locking and relatively firm connection between the two bodies. This also results in a particularly simple assembly of the two components.
In a further development, the luminous body may be secured by means of a detent connection on the basic body. As a result of this measure, the luminous body can be fastened to the basic body and cannot be lost. For example, the detent connection will engage when the luminous body is fitted onto the basic body.
The luminous body preferably consists of a luminescent crystal mixture which is mixed with a transparent plastic material, such as polypropylene, or is embedded in such a plastic material. Such an embodiment can develop a particularly high-quality luminescent effect.
In a further development, illuminating devices can be provided which permit an active illumination of the luminous body, in which case a control of the vehicle switches on these illuminating devices together with an interior illumination and/or an instrument panel illumination (the so-called “night design”). In this manner, it is, for example, ensured in the case of an unlocking handle arranged in the trunk that, also when the environment is dark, the luminous body of the unlocking handle is illuminated as soon as the trunk lid is opened.
The unlocking handle is preferably arranged in the trunk of the vehicle, where it is used for unlocking the lock of the trunk lid.
A problem on which the invention is based is also solved by an unlocking handle which is used for the opening operation of a lock of closing element, such as a vehicle door, a vehicle flap, a vehicle hood or a vehicle lid, this unlocking handle being provided for the arrangement in a vehicle interior and being constructed in a luminous manner, in which case the unlocking handle has a basic body provided for the coupling with the lock and a luminous body made of a luminous material which is mounted thereon.
Additional important characteristics and advantages of the arrangement according to the invention are contained in the claims, in the drawings and in the pertaining description of the drawings.
It is understood that the above-mentioned characteristics and the characteristics to be explained in the following can be used not only in the respective indicated combination but also in other combinations or alone, without leaving the scope of the present invention. In particular, the use of the unlocking handle according to the invention should not be limited to the unlocking of a trunk lid.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.